My 1993 coupe has a history of eating optis like candy. They would last about 100 miles then quit. I've got a box of old ones somewhere. I used a MSD once, all the rest are AC Delco. Somewhere along the line I gave up on my abilities. Threw my hands up, and started letting the local Chevy dealer shop do the work. The last one (Delphi) lasted about 4 years. I just got word today it has failed again. What is the best source in 2019 for a good opti? I want to change the ICM as well since that is the one thing that seemed to make a difference. What would you buy if you had to do this job today? What is a good source? Would you buy from Rockauto? i've looked at Summit and JEGS. Many choices. What is your experience?
Thanks!

 

I would contact the optidoctor. He has an ebay store, but you can deal directly with him as he is signed up here. Look for him in the membership section, if you have no luck I can send you his contact info

here is an ebay listing, read his story

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Optispark-r...53.m1438.l2649

 

Check this website out. It is an alternative to the opti. Don't know much about it or anyone who has installed one but it could be an option.
http://www.torqhead.com/index.html

 

100% agree!!! This is the correct answer.

 

I should add that since you have a box of old ones to take them all apart and see if even one has the Mistusbusi sensor. If you can find one than pick your best base and the optidoctor can rebuild for you saving you money.

 

 

Only available for 94-96 C4.

 

Well it's difficult to choose because we mostly read of the failures and usually if someone installed their opti wrong they probably didn't know it to begin with and or many would blame it on the manufacture anyways in denial that it could have been their own doing. There just isn't any good data on opti failure from anyone but the internet consensus seems to be original AC Delco units were the best. And ya know the AC Delco units had a terrible reputation themselves until they went out of manufacture. There is one forum member on this C4 forum that reported on his MSD opti over 3 years and that went approx 30k mi before failure and he found it covered in power steering fluid when it did loose its high resolution signal (you can do a C4 forum search to find this thread). He mentions MSD did the rebuild for only $150. That MSD went about 3 years and approx 30k mi but any optical sensor just has to stay dry. Makes me think one would need to keep his opti dry regardless of brand.

I'm shopping for an Opti now myself as a ready spare since I recently had a water pump failure and afraid the water exposure will slowly kill my good opti. I need a ready spare since I don't have time to shop if the current one quits. I've come to believe unless i want to spend the $500 for an Opti Doctor rebuild or $600 for an MSD Opti why not go cheap and take the chance on cheapo Opti for a lot less. Dissemble & inspect, Locktite the screws, seal the outside of the "sandwich" & connector and dont't wash the engine bay. That said I kinda like Spectra products as whole as they are Canadian made (or at least a Canadian company) and RockAuto sells them for less than $100. I have to assume RockAuto would not market a product that is a recurring failure as it loses money on returns and I guess the same can be said of the Summit Racing Opti's. I have owned an early Cardone rebuild Opti before that lasted only like a year but the current Cardones seem to just look like better quality than the Specta Opti's. You can find a Cardone Opti video on their reman Opti's that claims improvements they have made to their Opti remans. There are some $50 Opti's on fleabay that look just to suspect to me even if they have a generous return policy.

Hope this helps more than it confuses.

 

You have addressed all my issues I asked about. Thanks for that. The first time I changed one it took me about 2 days. The last time I did one was about 2 hours! But it didn't run right. Come to find out I had somehow put the spline one tooth off, although your not supposed to be able to do that. So i sent it out to the local Chevy dealer, it cost some money but this time (the last time) it ran 4 years and about 4,000 miles. I don't drive the car much, also its had other problems. But before that. I went through a series of opti's. I hunted through my garage today and found 2 old ones. One A/C delco, another MSD. The one one the car now is a Delphi, bur alas it has failed too. I've found changing the ICM is important. I'm thinking that, new plugs and plug wires this time. I think I'll at least try to talk to the opti doctor guy if the shop will be patent with me.
What year is yours?
I can't speak for everyone, but more me and most vette owners, the fun is in driving the car! That's what I got it for. It's no fun having it tear up. Expensive to. So mine has honestly spent more time parked in the garage, while I save up enough $ for the next repair. I've owned this car for 18 years, and only driven it 60k miles. It's fun to drive, but its getting where I wonder if it will get me home if i go out of town with it.
Thanks again for your help.....

 

 

I have a second gen Opti in my current LT1 ('95-'97). The car is a '94 but the motor is a late LT1 crate replacement.

I think I would suggest you look over all the replacement opti's taking your time looking them over several times before buying. It seems like I can start to sort them out the more I read about them and the more I look them over. The reviews aren't much help though as they are pretty baseless. Since you have opti's to look at for free I would take them apart and compare them for differences and to pictures of the aftermarket opti's. From what I can see the Cardone and the Summit Racing opti's look the most like the AC Delco opti - at least the housing does.

Please post what you find as it can be helpful to us all. This has been helpful conversation to motivate me to research the opti's again. I'm thinking the new manufacture Cardone (not reman) looks good (for what I want to spend) and the best price is on Summit Racing though RockAuto sells them also.

 

Another "unlucky" Corvette owner tossing out Optisparks. Beware the Optispark apologists on this site. Some folks here seem to think that a failed optispark is like a unicorn.

This forum screamed "unlucky" at me from all corners, and I've only gone through three on two different 'vettes. I don't believe in luck. This is a design issue.

Congrats on your repair efficiency! My best time is two days. First one took two months, but included plugs, wires, WP, knock sensors, coolant, etc. while in there.

I am in the "buy the least expensive replacement with the best warranty" camp. That's because I went "high end" on my first Optispark with a $400 Petris unit that failed after 18 months. They are all a crapshoot.

Optidoc will keep you going though. He'll send you a replacement every time it fails. Depending on his health, that might be the best warranty/price combo.

I am currently running an AIP Optispark that I bolted up in July. AIP sells a vented version for your '94. And I don't drive my LT1 Corvette farther than AAA is willing to tow it.

Yea, C4s are a bargain. Lots of HP for the money. But I found out the hard way why.

Welcome to the "unlucky" masses. I feel your pain.

 

No wonder it's so expensive.

 

 

 

I never doubted your personal experience, dizwiz. I only doubt your conclusions. You want to call me a liar now? There are plenty of photos and videos and receipts saying otherwise. Most of that proof is already posted from when I went through the Opti-ordeals. Believe in fairies all you want.

To be clear, both my wife's '95 and my '96 were OEM ACDelco Factory installed Gen 2 Vented when they died. So that's TWO OEM units in TWO separate cars dead. The high end Petris unit I used in the '96 also hit the wall. Chris Petris was the Opti-doc before the latest Opti-doc showed up on the scene. They come and go because no one can polish this turd. So two to one. Factory vs. aftermarket. Got it?

I don't understand touting the virtues of OEM when they are years out of production. It's not like OEM doesn't fail.

With the LT1, It's a little like being in a dark club full of people and there's an active shooter. He won't get everyone. But those he does...

Do you feel lucky?

 

THESE WILD TEMPERTURE CHANGES RUST THEM OUT QUICKLY. iF YOU DO NOT HAVE A GARAGE WITH A CONSTANT TEMPERTURE YOUR OUT OF LUCK FOR ANY LONGEVITY. MY FIRST ONE LASTED 20 YEARS AND THE NEW ONE IS A DELCO SO MAYBE ANOTHER TWENTY

 

There is a panel on the drivers side. It's part of the wheel well when the hood is closed. I remove it and have much better access. take the A/C pump off (not the hoses) get it out of the way, and remove that panel. I got much easier access then and the job started going faster.